1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrode, and to an electrochemical element employing it.
2. Related Background of the Invention
Electrochemical elements such as electrochemical capacitors (for example, electrical double layer capacitors), secondary batteries (for example, lithium ion secondary batteries, lithium metal secondary batteries and nickel-hydrogen batteries) are currently being developed as energy regenerable power sources for hybrid automobiles and fuel cell automobiles. Such electrochemical elements must meet increasing requirements for improved characteristics including energy density and discharge capacity.
In order to achieve such improved characteristics, it has been proposed to include conductive polymers in electrodes, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-155975 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-35494 (Patent Document 2), for example. It has also been proposed to include carbon nanotubes in electrodes, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-124079 (Patent Document 3). Including composites of activated carbon and conductive polymers in electrodes has also been proposed, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-25868 (Patent Document 4).